A bond between sisters
by Evapopefan56
Summary: Rachel ends up caring for the two younger sisters she never knew she had.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a Friday afternoon and Rachel was so glad to have finished work for the weekend, this week had been particularly stressful for her and she was really looking forward to spending time with her family for a couple days, her and her husband James and daughters Libby and Amelia were going out for a meal tonight at a fancy restaurant. James had a really stressful job as a consultant at the local hospital so it was very rare for him to have much time off.

Libby was 10 and Amelia was 13, they were both working really hard at school at the moment, so Rachel thought it would be nice for them to all go out together and just relax. Libby especially was finding school quite tough at the moment, she'd always struggled with it and recently they'd found out she had some additional learning needs, which seemed to have knocked her confidence quite a bit.

For once, Rachel decided not to stop late at school. About half an hour after the bell had gone, she grabbed all her stuff together, Amelia came up to her office.

"Hey how was school?"

"It was really good, I'm going to the cinema tomorrow with some friends"

"Oh that'll be nice, remember though I want you to make an effort with Libby this weekend, she's been so down all week with school and everything, I just want to cheer her up"

"Yeah I will do, don't worry" Amelia said, "Mum will you sign a letter for me?"

"What letter?"

Amelia reached in her bag and grabbed it for her "It's about the year 8 trip to Paris"

"Oh yeah I just signed the risk assessment for that today, I can't believe you all get to go there, in my day it was the local beach and that was about it"

Amelia laughed at this "Yeah but that was ages ago"

"Oi what are you trying to say?" Rachel joked "Right let's go and pick Libby up, I hope she's had a better day"

More or less every day this week Libby had come home upset about school, Rachel didn't know what to do to make it better for her, she knew it was hard when she was struggling with the work so much, she'd seemed so happy at school up until a month or so ago.

Amelia and Rachel walked out of school and got into the car to drive to Libby's school

By the time they got there Libby's after school group had just finished

Libby saw her Mum and sister so ran straight over. Libby still looked very young for her age, she was quite small, with long blonde hair.

"Hey darling how was school?" Rachel asked, giving her a quick hug

"It was okay" Libby said

Rachel knew she wasn't going to get much more from her about school so decided to leave it at that

"Can I go and play round Sophie's house when I get home"

"Well you can for about an hour but then you'll have to come in and get ready, we're going out for tea tonight remember"

"Yeah that's fine"

The three of them then got in the car and Rachel drove them home

As soon as they got in the two girls went upstairs to go and get changed

Rachel decided to make herself a cup of coffee, she felt like she'd not stopped all day and was definitely ready for a bit of a rest now

She noticed Libby had left her school bag in the hall so went through to pick it up, when she did though she noticed a letter inside

Of course, Rachel got it out to read, she was shocked when she read through it all, apparently Libby had been fighting with some of her friends , this didn't sound like Libby at all, normally she was so well behaved at school

Instantly Rachel went upstairs to talk to Libby about it

She knocked once on her bedroom door before going in

Libby had just got changed when her Mum came in, she could tell she wasn't very happy

"Am I in trouble Mum?" Libby asked sounding worried, she hated getting in any sort of trouble

"Well I'm not very happy about this letter I've just read, not one bit. And you obviously knew I wouldn't be happy which is why you didn't give it to me isn't it"

Libby didn't know what to say, she could feel her eyes fill with tears "I'm sorry, please don't shout at me"

Rachel sighed and sat down next to her

"I'm not going to shout Libby, but I do want you to tell me what happened" Rachel said

"Chloe was being horrible to me again and it just really upset me so I hit her" Libby sobbed

Rachel knew that Chloe had upset Libby quite a bit recently and it had really been getting her down

"Come on don't cry" she said putting an arm around her "Look I know that you and Chloe have been falling out a lot recently but the best thing to do is just ignore her and go and speak to your teacher about it, you know better than to hit people"

"I know I'm sorry"

"Okay, I'm not going to go on about it but please make sure it doesn't happen again okay?"

Libby nodded her head

"Right are you going to go over to Sophie's then?"

Libby nodded and then went off, Rachel knew she'd let her off quite lightly, but she was having a hard enough time of it as it was and she didn't want to make her feel even worse by shouting at her

The house was looking a bit messy, so Rachel decided to do a bit of cleaning

She was just downstairs when she heard the door go and James came in

"Hey Rach, I'm back"

"Oh hello I wasn't expecting you back for an hour or so, makes a change you being early for once"

"I know but we were quiet, and they owed me some time, so I decided to sneak off"

Rachel went over and put her arms around her husband

Amelia chose that exact moment to walk downstairs

"Eww you two are gross" She said causing Rachel to laugh

"We were only hugging" She pointed out "Have you got much homework and stuff to do this weekend?"

"Nope not really" Amelia replied "I'm starving can I get some crisps"

"Amelia we're literally going out in an hour, I'm sure you can wait until then" Rachel said

Amelia sighed before walking off

"She's getting more like a teenager by the second" James said laughing slightly

"Tell me about it, as if I don't have enough of it at work" Rachel joked

"Was Libby alright at school today?"

"Not really" Rachel sighed "Apparently Chloe was having a go at her and Libby ended up hitting her"

"That's not like Libby" James said

"I know, she just seems so unhappy at the moment, I really think we should look into that other school" Rachel said "I know the fees are ridiculous but it just seems like such a fantastic place and I know she'd be happier there"

"Yeah I think you're right, why don't you set up a meeting with someone there and we can talk things through?"

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea"

They chatted for a bit longer and then Rachel decided to go and get ready, she had a shower and then started doing her makeup.

She'd just about finished when Libby came in and sat down on the bed

"Hey love did you have a nice time at Sophie's?"

"Yeah it was really good" Libby said, "Mum when can I wear makeup like you do?"

"When you're older, you don't need to wear any makeup at the moment" Rachel replied

"You let Amelia wear it"

"Yes, because she's almost three years older than you are" Rachel said "You need to get ready for tonight Mrs"

"It won't take me long" Libby said but she went off anyway

A little while later they were all ready to go so, they headed off out

It was very unusual for them to all get to go out together, Rachel and James were so busy with work it just never normally happened

They got to the restaurant and went inside, it really was very nice in there

As they were looking through the menu James noticed that Amelia keep looking at her phone

"Amelia put your phone down at the table, especially while we're out"

"She's texting her boyfriend" Libby said giggling

"No, I'm not" Amelia said however she started to blush

"Don't be silly Libby, Amelia's far too young to be having boyfriends" James said

"Amelia does have a boyfriend though" Libby protested

"No, I do not, how would you know anyway?" Amelia asked

"I saw you had a text from a boy the other day" she said

"You shouldn't go on your sisters phone Libby, that's private" Rachel said sensing that Amelia was getting a bit uncomfortable with the situation, although she did hope that there wasn't any truth in it.

Luckily James quickly changed the subject and they ended up having a really nice evening.

Rachel and James had ended up having quite a lot of wine between them, Rachel had only planned on having one small glass so she could drive back but had ended up getting a bit carried away.

"Looks like we're walking back tonight" James said

"Oh well it'll only take us 20 minutes and we can pick the car up tomorrow " Rachel said

"Why do we have to walk?" Libby asked

"Because me and Dad have been drinking wine, a bit too much of it" Rachel said laughing slightly

They didn't really mind walking though; it was a lovely evening after all.

James paid the bill and then they left

It was quite nice walking; the two girls went ahead to chat to each other, so Rachel and James walked behind them.

"you don't think Amelia does have a boyfriend do you?" James asked

"No, anyway even if she does it'll only be a bit of fun it won't exactly be serious will it?" Rachel said laughing "I remember having daft boyfriends at her age"

"oh really, I don't know if I like the thought of you having a whole load of men before me" he teased causing Rachel to nudge him playfully

They were nearly home and suddenly Rachel thought she'd heard a noise behind her

She brushed it off though thinking she must have imagined it

However, a minute or so later Rachel got the shock of her life. She was walking when out of nowhere she felt someone jump out at her.

She screamed in terror; they were wearing a hood so she couldn't see their face.

They grabbed at her handbag and before Rachel could stop them, they had managed to get it off her arm and run off with it

Rachel couldn't believe what had just happened, her heart was pounding rapidly against her chest

James wasted no time in running after them, determined to find out who the culprit was and retrieve his wife's bag

James was very fit for his age and had always been a good runner, so it didn't take him long to catch up with them. He grabbed them and quickly managed to stop them in their tracks.

When he did however, he got a shock, they felt very thin and he could hear them sobbing loudly, they sounded very wheezy.

"What the hell were you doing grabbing my wife's bag like that?" He demanded

They continued to sob, eventually they pulled back their hood

James got a shock, it was a girl who only looked about Amelia's age, she looked awful, her face was very thin and pale, she looked like she hadn't eaten for days, despite what had happened James couldn't help but feel worried

"hey it's okay, take some deep breaths" he said gently

The girl was clearly distressed, and was shivering violently despite the night being warm

She tried to calm down a bit

"What's your name?"

She wasn't sure whether to tell him or not, but in the end decided to trust him "Georgie" she whispered

"How old are you Georgie?"

"15" she replied, he couldn't believe how old she was, she looked a lot younger

James was about to reply when Rachel caught up with him

"James did you get my bag back" she shouted from a distance "Is this who got it?"

James nodded

Rachel ran up to the girl, Amelia and Libby close behind her

She was about to give her a piece of her mind but then she saw the girl, and her fury turned to shock

Georgie was sat on the floor crying and shaking Rachel crouched down beside her, she could tell something wasn't right about this

"This is Georgie, she's 15" James explained

"Georgie my names Rachel" Rachel said "are you okay?"

It felt strange, she suddenly felt a great deal of concern over the person who, just 5 minutes ago, had tried to run off with her bag

The girl didn't answer her

"Amelia, take my keys and take Libby home, it's only round the corner" Rachel instructed

The two girls went off, feeling shocked at what had just happened

"Where do you live Georgie?" Rachel asked, something seemed very wrong with the girl and she wanted to make sure she got home safely

"Are you going to call the police?" Georgie asked sounding worried

"No, we're not" James said "We just want to make sure you're safe, you don't seem very well"

Georgie continued to cry

James exchanged glances with Rachel, they didn't know what to do for the best

"I stole your bag, why are you being nice?"

"Well something tells me you had your reasons" Rachel said "Now why don't you tell us where you live, and we can get you home"

"I don't have a home" Georgie mumbled

"What do you mean?" James asked

"Me and my sister, we were in a care home because no one wanted us, only a few days we ran away, we've found this empty place to live in, I smashed a window to get in, we haven't eaten all day and I needed money to buy my sister food, that's why I tried to steal your bag. My sister's waiting for me back at the place"

Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing, she didn't know what to say or do

"How old is your sister?" James asked

"5" Georgie said, causing Rachel and James to exchange another shocked glance

Georgie then turned to Rachel, "She's your sister too"

Rachel's heart missed a beat

"What? No sorry that's rubbish, I don't have any sisters"

"You do" Georgie said "your dad is my dad, I've seen loads of pictures of you before, Dad divorced your Mum and married my Mum 15 years ago, he had me then too and Lexi 10 years later, Mum died then too and it was just us and him, that's when he turned violent and we got taken off him and put in foster families, only none of them wanted us so we went to a care home, but it's awful in there and I'm not going back, me and Lexi ran away. I knew about you and I even got your address, so I thought maybe we'd come and see if you'd have us, I came to your house the other day and saw you with the two girls so obviously I knew then you wouldn't want anything to do with us, but I guessed you'd be pretty well off, me and lexi aren't staying far away and tonight I've been hanging round this area, when I saw you coming that's when I grabbed your bag, I only did it because I needed to, I'm really sorry"

Rachel was in shock, she couldn't believe what she'd just been told, half of her didn't believe it, but then why would she make it up? It was possible, after all she'd left home at 16, she couldn't stand her parents and wanted nothing to do with them.

"I've got a picture of me and Dad, so you know I'm not lying"

Georgie reached in her pocket and grabbed a crumpled piece of paper, Rachel couldn't believe it, it was her Dad after all.

She looked at the girl, not knowing what to say. She had a million questions but she knew she couldn't ask them.

"Do you believe me?"

Rachel just nodded her head in response

After a long pause, James spoke

"Georgie you don't seem very well" he said "don't you think we should take you back, you can't look after you sister out here alone, with no money and no one to take care of you, surely people are looking all over for you now"

"I'm not going back, it's torture for us" Georgie cried "I can look after Lexi"

"When was the last time you had something to eat?" Rachel asked, finally talking for the first time since Georgie had told her the news

Georgie shrugged, Rachel suddenly began to feel guilty about the meal they'd just had which had cost them the best part of £100 and they'd thought nothing of it.

"Look obviously we're going to have to call social services, but why don't you come back to our house while we do it?" Rachel said, she couldn't leave her, she was just so vulnerable

"no, you'll get them to send us back" Georgie cried

"Georgie, I know you're scared, and I know you don't trust me, but we can't leave you like this, especially when you say your little sister is with you too" James said

"I don't want to go back; you don't get what it's like"

"Georgie, I promise you I won't let them send you back" Rachel said, she didn't know how she was going to ensure this, but she also knew it was the right thing to do

Georgie looked up at Rachel, something about her made her trust her

"you must be starving, let us fix you up with something to eat and your sister too" Rachel said

Georgie didn't know what to do, but she knew if she didn't accept her and Lexi probably wouldn't eat tonight

"Okay" she whispered

Rachel helped her up, she was very weak and struggled to walk so she had to support her

She wondered how the hell anyone had let a child get into such a state

"How far away is it to where you've been staying" James asked

"About 10 minutes"

"Okay, you lead the way then"

The walk seemed to take forever, eventually they got to a deserted allotment type places

"How have the police not found you?" Rachel wondered out loud

"They're looking for us I think, but they're used to care kids going missing, and we've only been gone a day"

Rachel began to get really worried about what they would find inside

Georgie managed to open the door

Rachel and James gasped when they saw the little girl inside, like her sister she looked incredibly skinny, her clothes were filthy, and her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks

Rachel felt like crying; she couldn't imagine how any child could end up like this

Lexi cowered away when she saw the two strangers

"Lexi it's alright, this is our sister Rachel" Georgie soothed

"Hey Lexi, Georgie's been telling me all about you" Rachel said "She also tells me your ready for some dinner, and I said if you come back to our house we can get you something to eat, how about that huh?"

Lexi looked up at Georgie who nodded reassuringly

"Come on then, let's get you sorted" Rachel said

Lexi shuffled out cautiously, she too was extremely weak and didn't seem to be able to walk well

"Do you want me to carry you?" James asked, he didn't really know what else to suggest

Lexi backed away again, the idea of this scaring her

"Okay, how about if I do it?" Rachel asked, thinking she might trust a woman more

Lexi nodded her head in response so Rachel picked her up, she was extremely light for a 5-year-old

Suddenly Georgie became conscious of how dirty Lexi was and how smart Rachel's outfit was

"Sorry, I have tried to keep her clean, it's just hard we've not had a change of clothes or anything and we couldn't shower"

"Don't worry" Rachel said simply, sensing her embarrassment

Eventually they got back home

The two girls stared round in amazement at the house, it was like nothing they'd ever witnessed before, Georgie felt so out of place there

Rachel brought them through to the kitchen, she wasn't sure what to give them but found some left over pizza and got some crisps out as well as two glasses of orange juice

As soon as she put it out the girls instantly grabbed at it, stuffing as much in their mouths as possible, Rachel had never seen anyone eat so quickly, it made her want to cry again

Within just a minute or so the two of them had demolished it, she had made some sandwiches up so put them on a plate

Again, they grabbed it as soon as they could, this was the first proper food they'd had in ages.

The girls looked so scared and fragile; Rachel didn't know what to do

"Girls just stay in here for a couple of minutes, me and James are just going to make some calls"

"I'm not going back there" Georgie said again

"I know" Rachel replied

James and Rachel then went out, closing the door behind them.

James turned to Rachel; he couldn't take in everything that had happened

"Oh my god, James I just don't believe it. I didn't even know I had sisters, never mind one's 20 odd years younger than me." Rachel said "I mean I haven't seen Dad since I was 16 but it's just such a shock"

"Those poor girls, did you see the way they were eating? How the hell have they got to that point?"

"God knows, it's just so awful" Rachel said "The police must be looking everywhere for them, especially Lexi, she's not much older than a baby"

"We need to call social services, they'll be able to set them up with an emergency foster family, even if it's just for a couple of days"

"Yeah I'll call them now"

Rachel picked up the phone, she quickly managed to get through to who she needed to speak to

Rachel seemed to be on the phone for ages, she'd gone in the other room so she could talk in private but James could hear a fair bit of arguing going on

Eventually she came back through

"Well, there's absolutely no emergency foster placements available, they need to send them back to the care home"

"You promised they would go back there"

"I know but what am I supposed to do?" Rachel snapped, she then instantly felt bad "I'm sorry I just really don't know what to do"

"Can't they stay here for a few nights, just until something's sorted" James suggested

Rachel wasn't sure at first, she just didn't know whether she could manage caring for such vulnerable children, even if it was for just a couple of days.

"I suppose we could" Rachel said "Do you think we'll be able to?"

"Well you are family after all, they'll have a record of that" James pointed out "I just think they're going to be better off here than in a care home"

"Yeah I guess"

Rachel then rang the social worker back, they ended up having another quite long conversation, but in the end it was agreed that they could stay, and she'd come round in about an hour to complete some checks and fill out some paperwork

"James, I'll go and talk to the girls, why don't you go and speak to Libby and Amelia" Rachel suggested "They have no idea what's going on"

"Okay"

Rachel went back through to the kitchen

The two of them were sat there, not really knowing what to do with themselves

"Girls, I've spoken to your social worker, look this is just a suggestion but how about if you stay here for a couple of nights, until something more suitable can be sorted out?"

"Really?" Georgie said, she couldn't believe her and Lexi were going to get to stay in such a fancy house for a while

"Yeah, if that's alright with you?"

The girls looked at each other and nodded

"Okay well we've got a few spare rooms, none of them are particularly tidy at the moment but I'm sure you'll be comfy enough" Rachel said "Georgie, you'll be able to use some of Amelia's pyjamas and stuff, Lexi I'm not really sure what we're going to do for you, maybe me and you can nip to Tesco and find something, it'll still be open"

"We don't have money" Georgie replied

"Well I don't mind getting you some things" Rachel said "Why don't I show you around a bit, and you can meet my two daughters"

It then occurred to Rachel that these girls were technically aunties to Amelia and Libby

Rachel showed them round a bit and then knocked on Amelia's door

"Yeah" Amelia shouted

Rachel walked in, the two girls following closely behind

Libby was also sat in there on Amelia's bed

"Amelia, Libby this is Georgie and Lexi" she said

Rachel couldn't believe how this evening had worked out, the person she'd assumed was a thug trying to steal her bag was now in her house getting introduced to her daughters

"Hello" Amelia said smiling

"Libby, you can have 10 more minutes in here then it's your bedtime, Amelia make sure she goes to bed" Rachel said

She then continued taking the girls round, she led Georgie up to the biggest spare room

"Right Georgie, do you reckon you'll be okay here huh? I'll bring some towels and pyjamas up, then you can a shower if you'd like?"

Georgie was looking forward to going in the shower, she hadn't had a wash in what seemed like forever, she felt far too dirty to be in Rachel's clean house.

"Why don't you go in and get settled" Rachel suggested, thinking Georgie probably needed a bit of time

Lexi felt scared now her sister had gone

"Right Lexi, let me show you through to your room"

Lexi felt very nervous about having her own room, she normally slept with Georgie

The room was very pretty, it just felt so big compared to what she was used to

Rachel realised Lexi hadn't actually spoken a word to her since they'd met

"Do you need anything else Lexi?"

Lexi just shook her head in response

"Okay, well I'm going to head out to Tesco now, I won't be long I promise"

Rachel grabbed her bag and then went out, despite being totally sober now after tonight's events she realised she still probably shouldn't drive, so decided to walk round.

While she was there she got some pyjamas and a few other bits for Lexi, she also got some toiletries for Georgie, thinking it would be nice for her to have her own stuff.

She then walked back home

She was going to go straight up and check on the girls, however, the social worker arrived

It took quite a while to go through everything but in the end everything was sorted so she left.

Rachel then went up to see Georgie, she knocked on the door before going in

Georgie had been in the shower and was already looking a lot better, she was a very pretty girl, but she just looked so unwell and neglected

"Hey, I just wanted to check you were okay?"

"Yeah" Georgie replied "Rachel, I'm sorry for trying to steal your bag earlier, I just didn't know what else to do"

Rachel went in and sat down next to her

"I know you only did it because you were so desperate" she said "I just want you and your sister to feel comfortable here"

"Thank you" Georgie mumbled "I'll make sure Lexi doesn't cause trouble"

"She doesn't really seem like she would"

"She gets scared at night, sometimes she'll wake up in a state"

"I'd say that's pretty understandable given what you've been through" Rachel said "I think any child would be the same, I'm going to run her a bath in a minute"

"She might not be keen on going in"

"Why?"

"Some kid at the care home dunked her head under and held it there, she took in a load of water"

"Oh god, the poor little thing" Rachel said "Well I'll go and run one and see if I can get her to go in, Amelia's downstairs watching love island, you could go and join her, even if it is the biggest load of rubbish ever"

"I might do" Georgie said

"Okay, well I'll leave you to it, if you need anything at all just come and get me okay?"

Georgie nodded her head

Rachel smiled at her and then closed the door

She then ran the bi jacuzzi bath for Lexi

She went over to Lexi's room, she realised how late it was and that she'd be really tired. She did really need a wash though; she was totally filthy and it broke Rachel's heart seeing her like that

"Lexi come on through to the bathroom" she said

Lexi followed her in

"Do you want to get in the bath? Look there's loads of bubbles"

Lexi cowered away and shook her head violently

"It's okay, I promise nobody is going to hurt you" Rachel said, however, she knew there was no way she would trust her on this, why should she? So many other people had let her down

"Your sisters been in" Rachel said "And nobody else is going to come in here"

Lexi still looked terrified

"Lexi it's alright I promise; you don't even have to go in for very long"

Rachel felt as if she was talking to herself, she knew she wasn't going to get a response out of lexi

"Please go in Lexi, you'll feel all nice and clean afterwards" Rachel begged

Lexi backed away even more

Rachel was about to give up when suddenly she had an idea

She disappeared and came back a few minutes later with a bikini on, she felt absolutely ridiculous doing this but hoped it might work

"Look I'll come in with you"

Lexi looked puzzled but still didn't respond

Rachel got in while Lexi watched

Rachel was sure this wouldn't achieve anything and felt a bit stupid, however, just a minute or so later Lexi slowly got undressed and got in, much to Rachel's surprise

"See it's nice and warm in here" she said "And we can give your hair a lovely wash with my special shampoo"

Lexi still felt very tense, however, she started to relax a little bit.

After a while Rachel washed her hair, before getting a sponge and gently washing her

By the time they were finished, Lexi looked significantly cleaner.

Rachel wrapped a towel around her and dried her off, she then got her to brush her teeth

"I got you some pyjamas, I think they should fit" Rachel said

"Thank you" Lexi whispered; it was the first words she'd spoken

"You're welcome, you needed something to sleep in didn't you?"

Lexi quickly got changed, it was the first time in ages she'd felt properly clean

"It must be way past your bed time, you must be absolutely shattered" Rachel said "Do you want anything to drink before bed?"

Lexi shook her head

"Do you need to go to the toilet before you go to sleep?"

Lexi nodded

"Okay, I'll just wait in your room"

Rachel went in and sat down on the bed, a minute or so late Lexi came back

"You know if you need anything at all during the night you can just shout, I do understand how strange it feels being here, but everyone here just wants to look after you I promise, nobody's going to shout or hurt you"

Almost as soon as she got into bed Lexi began to feel incredibly tired

"Night darling" Rachel said, squeezing her shoulder slightly

Almost as soon as Rachel had left Lexi fell fast asleep, it was the first time she'd felt anywhere near safe in a long time

Rachel then went downstairs and sat down with Amelia and James

"Mum how are they?" Amelia asked

"They're very fragile, I've never seen two children in such a state" Rachel said "I'm sorry, this must all be such a shock"

"It's okay, they seem really nice" Amelia said causing Rachel to smile, she was such a kind girl

"I can't believe I had sisters I never knew about and they managed to track me down"

"Why did you stop speaking to your parents Mum" Amelia asked, she'd tried to talk about this before with Rachel, however her Mum had always very quickly changed the subject

Rachel sighed, she always did hate it whenever someone brought it up

"Oh love it was a long time ago, things just happened between us that's all"

"But what sort of things?" Amelia persisted "It must have been really bad for you to never speak to them again"

"Amelia, I'm really tired can we talk about this another time?"

"But you'll never talk about it with me" Amelia said "I've never met my grandparents on your side"

"And I wouldn't want you to either, darling when you're older I'll explain it all to you, just not yet okay?"

Amelia sighed, she knew she'd never really get an answer out of her Mum on this

"Is Libby asleep?" Rachel asked

"Yeah, she was a bit upset before bed though so I sat with her a while"

"How come?" Rachel asked

"I think just school and everything, and it's obviously a bit unsettling for her having Georgie and Lexi her"

"I know, I should have spoken to you two properly about it but I just didn't have chance" Rachel sighed "It's only for a few days though"

"Mum it's fine, they need somewhere to stay, Libby will be fine too"

"I hope so" Rachel said

They chatted for quite a while before Amelia decided to go up to bed

It was getting late but Rachel and James decided to have another coffee, neither of them were relaxed enough to go to sleep

They'd been downstairs a while when suddenly the living room door opened and Lexi came in

She looked quite scared, as she was standing there Rachel couldn't help but think how young she looked

"hey Lexi are you okay?" James asked

Lexi didn't say anything for a moment or so, it was like she was trying to pluck up the courage to speak, then slowly her mouth opened "Can I have some water please?" she asked

Rachel smiled, it was the most the girl had said since she'd arrived

"Yes of course, me and James are just about to go to bed, so I'll get you that and then I'll take you back up"

Rachel went into the kitchen and poured her a glass of water

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked

Lexi looked round the kitchen, despite eating at Rachel's house earlier she still felt starving, after all her and Georgie hadn't eaten properly for ages, she caught her eye on the bread on the counter, she was too scared to ask for a piece though

Rachel caught her looking "How about some bread and butter?"

"Yes please" Lexi said

Rachel got a couple of pieces out and buttered them "There you go"

Lexi took the plate and instantly began to eat, she must still be ravenous Rachel thought to herself

"Thank you" Lexi said

"You're welcome, you know you can always have food here whenever you need it" Rachel said

She then took Lexi back up to bed

"How long are we here for?" Lexi asked when she was in bed

"I'm not sure love, a few days" Rachel replied

"I like it here" Lexi mumbled

Rachel smiled, she was glad to see Lexi looking a bit more relaxed now.

"You get some sleep, and remember we're just around the corner" Rachel said

She stayed with Lexi for a bit before going to bed, eventually feeling shattered after the evenings events

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	2. Chapter 2

It was the following morning and rachel ended up waking up really early. She couldn't believe what had happened the other day and she had two sisters that up until yesterday she had no idea about, it all seemed so surreal and she felt so worried about how she was going to help them, they seemed so vulnerable and neglected. In fact, despite working in some very deprived schools over the last 15 years, she'd never seen two girls left as badly as Georgie and Lexi had been. She wondered what effect it would have on them.

Lexi had woken up early too, she couldn't believe she was waking up in a nice warm comfortable bed, it was the first time in ages she'd managed to have a proper sleep, it felt strange not waking up with Georgie though and she felt a bit scared. She wondered how long rachel would let them stay, maybe they'd have leave when Georgie woke up. Lexi began to feel worried, she knew if they left it might be ages before they could eat again. She still felt starving, despite the fact rachel had given them plenty of food last night. Suddenly Lexi has a thought, she wondered if she could take some of the food from the kitchen to take back with them. She knew stealing was wrong but if she didn't do it then they might not eat again for days. There's no way they could go back to the care home, so they'd have to run off again like they did last time and find somewhere to stay.

Lexi knew it was early and everyone else would most likely be asleep, so she decided now would be the best time to sneak down and try and get some food. She felt terrified, she was sure if she got found out she'd get hit. Slowly she got out of bed and started tiptoeing across the landing.

Rachel had been so caught up in her own thoughts, but suddenly she heard a noise coming from downstairs, she knew it would be one of the girls so decided to go and check everything was alright.

She wrapped her dressing down around herself and went downstairs.

Lexi was in the kitchen, she looked around frantically, feeling scared about what she was doing, she saw the half loaf of bread left and decided to grab it, she then climbed up onto the work top and opened one of the cupboards.

Rachel came into the kitchen and saw Lexi on the work top, opening one of the cupboards

"Lexi are you okay? " she asked , causing Lexi to jump

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you" Rachel said "come down from there, it'll hurt if you fall'

Lexi got down and turned to face Rachel, she was shaking, sure she'd get into trouble, she still had the bread in her hand.

Rachel approached her slowly, "do you want me to cut you a slice of bread?"

Lexi didn't say anything, she still felt really scared.

"Or I can make you something else? What do you fancy"

"I'm sorry" Lexi whispered

"What for Lexi?" Rachel asked gently

"I was going to steal the bread. For when me and Georgie have to go, I didn't want to be hungry again" she admitted

Hearing Lexi say this made Rachel want to cry, she couldn't believe a 5 year old felt she had to steal bread to be able to survive, Lexi looked so fragile standing there, she was severely underweight and looked so much younger than 5.

"Lexi you and Georgie don't have to go anywhere yet, and when you do go

we're going to find somewhere lovely for you, and you won't have to worry about food I promise, and while you're in my house you can help yourself to the food whenever you want to, no ones going to get cross with you"

Lexi didn't know what to say, she wasn't used to being spoken to so kindly by a grown up, the only person who'd speak to her kindly usually was Georgie.

"So how about some breakfast then? I'm going to make myself a coffee and some porridge, what would you like?"

"The same as you please"

"Coming up, well maybe not the coffee but I can do some porridge and some orange juice, does that sound okay?"

"Yes please" Lexi said

"You sit yourself down at the table. I'll be 2 minutes"

Lexi sat down at the table; it felt weird sitting at a proper table to eat.

A couple of minutes later, Rachel brought her porridge over and put the orange juice down. She sat down next to her.

Lexi wasn't used to eating with proper cutlery, she watched what rachel was doing and tried to copy how she was eating. Rachel senses her doing it but didn't say anything.

"So do you go to school at the moment Lexi"

"No" Lexi said "Georgie teaches me stuff thorough, I know how to read some words and I can write" she added, not wanting Rachel to think she was stupid

"Oh well it sounds like Georgie's looking after you well" rachel said after taking a sip of her coffee

"Yeah she always tries to find me food and stuff" Lexi said "how long are we staying here for?" She asked

"I don't know love, but you can stay for as long as it takes to find you somewhere suitable, it'll be nice having you round and I know Libby will love having someone to play with"

"How old is libby?" Lexi asked

"Libby's 10 now and Amelia's just turned 13, so she's reached those terrible teenagers years" Rachel joked, in reality she'd been lucky with Amelia so far, she hadn't seemed to hit the stroppy teenage phase yet

"Are they naughty" Lexi asked

Rachel smiled slightly "they can be, but they're mostly not too bad"

"What do you do when they're bad? Do they get hit and stuff?"

Hearing Lexi ask this made Rachel worried

"No lexi, we don't hit people in this house, no matter what they've done"

"But don't you have to if they're bad"

"Lexi when an adult hurts a child that's wrong, no matter what they've done"

"But sometimes it's okay isn't it, like if they've done something really bad"

Rachel paused for a moment before asking "have people hurt you before Lexi?'

Lexi didn't answer for a moment but then nodded

"Your dad?"

Lexi nodded again "only when I was bad, and I deserved it"

Rachel felt a lump form in her throat "no love, nobody ever deserves to be hurt, especially not a child" she said "I promise no one is going to hurt you here, you'll be safe"

Lexi didn't know how to respond to this, she couldn't believe how nice Rachel was being to her.

"Do you want anything else to eat? You must have enjoyed the porridge, I wish Libby would take a leaf out of your book, it's an absolute nightmare trying to get her to have breakfast on a morning"

"I'm okay thank you" Lexi said "please can I go to your toilet?"

"Yes of course you can, you don't need to ask, if you go through the hall then it's the first door you get to"

Lexi went off, when she was in the bathroom she suddenly felt tears coming into her eyes, she wasn't sure why, she just felt for the first time in her life she was somewhere safe and the thought of having to move again made her scared. Her stomach felt really weird too, and quite painful.

As soon as she'd finished she went back into the kitchen. Rachel noticed that she must have been crying, she wished she could do something to help.

"Do you fancy watching a little bit of TV together before the others get up?"

Lexi nodded so they went through to the living room and Rachel put some kids tv on.

As they were watching rachel noticed Lexi looked a bit uncomfortable and kept holding her stomach

"Are you okay Lexi?"

Lexi nodded but then shook her head

"Is your stomach hurting"

"Yeah, it feels all sore" she mumbled

"Do you know what it'll probably be some of the food you've been having, if you haven't eaten for a while your bodies probably not used to it" she said "we can keep an eye on it and give you some calpol okay ?"

Lexi nodded her head

They sat and watched the TV for quite a while before James came down

"Morning" he said "how did you sleep Lexi?"

"Really good"

"Oh well that's good news, Rachel looks like she's slacking off as usual" he said playfully

"It's the weekend what do you expect?" She said

"Well I'd have expected a coffee making for when I got down" he joked

"Make your own coffee"

"I need you to have a look at some letters for me Rach" James said

Rachel was confused at first but then realised this was probably a way of getting her away so they could talk in private

"I'll come through to the kitchen, I'll be 5 minutes Lexi, do you want anything getting, water, more food, anything ?"

"No thanks"

"Okay"

Rachel got up and followed James through to the kitchen, closing the door behind her so they could talk in private.

"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked

"It's Libby"

"What's wrong with Libby?" Rachel asked sounding worried

"I was with her for about an hour last night, she woke up at about 2 and I heard her crying so I went to see her, it's just about school and stuff, she really hates it there rachel, and she said that she thinks she's letting us down and we're disappointed in her, it took ages to calm her down"

"Oh the poor kid" Rachel sighed "why didn't you wake me up?'

"Because you were fast asleep"

"She's just having a Crap time of it at the moment isn't she?" Rachel said "what do you think we should do about it?"

"Why don't we make an appointment with the school, let them know how she's been feeling"

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea, it's not as if she's got that long left at the school anyway" Rachel said "I'm going to go and have a chat, Make sure she's alright"

"How's Lexi this morning?'

"Still fragile, I found her earlier with some bread, she thought she'd have to leave this morning so she wanted to take it with her to make sure her and Georgie had something to eat" she said

"God the poor girls, I still can't believe it"

"Neither can I, isn't it awful that In this day and age they've been left to get into the state they're in" Rachel said shaking her head "I'm going to nip to town today, get them some

Proper clothes and some other bits"

"That's a good idea"

"Anyway I'll pop and see libby"

Rachel went upstairs and into Libby's room, she found her awake and sat up in bed so she went to sit next to her

"Morning darling"

"Morning mum" Libby said

"Dad told me about last night, I just came in because I wanted to check you were okay?"

"I'm okay" Libby said

"Are you sure? I know we've got a lot going on at the moment, but you can always talk to me if you need to"

"It's fine, I just don't like school that much"

"I know love, but it's not as if you're there for much longer"

"I know, mum how long are Lexi and Georgie going to be here for?"

"I don't know darling; do you mind them being here"

"No, they seem nice"

"Well it'll be until we've found them a family that can properly take care of them"

"I like them being here, why are they so skinny?"

"Well because they've not been very well looked after, so they've not always been given proper food"

"That must be horrible" Libby said "I don't get how you didn't know they were your sisters though"

"Well I haven't spoken to either of my parents in years, so I guess a lot went on that I had no idea about" Rachel said, although she was still getting her head around the fact she had sisters she didn't even know about.

Libby and Rachel talked for a little longer before Rachel left her to it.

She went to check on Amelia, who was just getting ready and then decided to knock on Georgie's room.

Georgie shouted for her to come in, so she opened the door.

She found her sat at the end of her bed, she was shivering quite badly, but Rachel suspected this was because her body was running on such little energy. Rachel couldn't help but look at how thin she was, she hadn't noticed it as much last night because she'd had a hoodie on, but now she just had a pyjama vest top on she could see how much her bones were prodding out, her skin looked very pale and thin too.

"Hey Georgie, did you sleep okay?" Rachel asked

"Yeah, it felt weird sleeping in a proper bed' Georgie said "Thanks for letting us stay the night Rachel"

"You can stay as long as you need too" Rachel said "I was thinking, how about we go shopping today? Get you some new clothes and stuff"

"You already bought us stuff last night, you don't have to"

"It's nothing, honestly it's the least we can do"

"Was lexi okay last night? She didn't wake up or anything did she? If she did you could have got me, I'd have dealt with it and …" Georgie said suddenly sounding quite panicked.

"Calm down, she was absolutely fine, slept right through"

"She must have been exhausted" Georgie said "I have tried to look after her, I've tried to make sure she gets something to eat and is kept warm, I know I haven't kept her clean, but I promise I've tried"

"Georgie, it's not your job to do all those things, you're still a child yourself, and you need looking after too" Rachel said "Do you go to school anywhere Georgie"

Georgie considered lying but then shook her head

"I used to go, but then Dad got worse, and I had to look after Lexi"

"I'm the head teacher at a school near here, it's called Waterloo road"

"Oh yeah I know it" Georgie said "You seem too nice to be a head, the head in the school I used to go to was horrible"

"Well we're not all like that" Rachel said smiling "Look, I imagine wherever you end up is going to be pretty close to here, would you consider coming to my school"

"But that'll mean you'll see me like even when I'm not with you anymore, surely you want us out your hair as soon as you can"

'I don't want anything of the sort, even though I knew nothing about any of this until yesterday, you're family and I'll try and help in any way I can"

Georgie didn't know what to say, nobody had ever been this nice to her before

"So how about it then?"

"Well yeah if you don't mind" she said

"Okay well I'll see what we can do then" she said "I don't think Lexi's quite ready for school yet, but I'm sure in a couple of weeks something will get sorted for her"

Georgie chatted to Rachel for a bit longer before deciding to get dressed, she came downstairs a few minutes later, she felt embarrassed by the fact she was wearing the same hoodie and pair of leggings as yesterday, but she didn't have any other choice. She felt uncomfortably aware of how scruffy she and Lexi looked in comparison to Amelia and Libby.

Lexi saw Georgie and instantly went to go and sit on her knee.

"Lexi, do you want to choose what to put on Netflix?" Amelia offered.

Lexi looked at Georgie for reassurance, Georgie nodded at her so Lexi started looking through, in the end she put on horrid henry.

"Georgie, we can go to the upstairs room if you want?" Amelia offered, not really wanting to watch horrid henry.

Georgie didn't really want to leave Lexi, she still felt really protective over her, but she agreed anyway and followed Amelia up.

They went into the upstairs Tv room together.

"I've been watching American horror story, but mum doesn't know, If she does she'd get really annoyed" Amelia said giggling

"I can't imagine Rachel getting annoyed" Georgie said

'She doesn't that often, but she does sometimes, I remember when she found out I'd gone out at lunch time, she got really annoyed then" Amelia said

Georgie couldn't believe how friendly Amelia was being with her, she was so pretty and well spoken, Georgie thought she would be really snobby about talking to her, especially when she looked so dirty, but Amelia hardly seemed to notice.

"Do you have a boyfriend Georgie?"

"No, I've not really had chance" Georgie said, "Do you?"

"Not really, but there is this boy called Sam in my year, we keep messaging and stuff and he told one of my friends he liked me"

"aren't you a bit young for boyfriends?" Georgie asked, smiling

"That's what Mum said, but I don't think I am" Amelia sighed "Loads of the other girls In my year have them, and they wear loads of makeup and look so much older than me"

"You look older than me and I'm 14" Georgie said, she was so skinny and fragile looking, she really did look quite a lot younger than 14

"But you're so pretty, I bet loads of boys fancy you" Amelia said, it was true, even though Georgie looked quite unwell at the moment she really was very pretty.

Georgie didn't know if Amelia was just being kind, but she sounded genuine enough, it was weird talking to someone who was nearly the same age as her, she'd never really had much chance to make friends.

"are you going to come shopping with us?" Georgie asked

"I really want to, I love shopping" Amelia said "I can help find you some more clothes … not that you need them or anything, I really like your hoody" she said realising she might have offended her, but Georgie laughed

"now I know you're lying; I know I look a state" she said 'I haven't been able to wash my clothes in ages" she added self-consciously

Rachel had been outside listening for a couple of minutes, it was so nice to hear the girls getting on so well, even though she knew she shouldn't be eaves dropping.

She decided to go in and see them

As soon as she came in Amelia hastily tried to pause the TV

"Don't even think about it young lady, I wasn't born yesterday" Rachel said "If that's what I think it is you better get it off right now, I've told you before about watching this, I'm going to start monitoring your account"

"Like you'd know how to do that" Amelia joked

"Oi mind your tone" she said "Georgie, I was coming to see if you wanted to grab a shower or anything before, we go out"

"Oh erm yes please if you don't mind" She said

"Of course not, use my en-suite if you want, the shower in there's slightly better, and feel free to use any of the toiletries or perfumes in there, that's if Amelia hasn't used them all"

"Are you sure?"

"It's absolutely fine" Rachel said "There should be plenty of towels in there"

Georgie went off to the bathroom, she couldn't believe how many fancy toiletries Rachel seemed to have in there, it was full of creams and oils that she'd never even heard of before. It felt so nice to be able to use them and feel properly clean.

While Georgie was in the shower, Rachel turned to Amelia "Amelia, when Georgie comes out of the shower, will you ask her if she wants to borrow some of your clothes to go shopping in, I would but I don't want to embarrass her or anything and I think she feels uncomfortable In what she's in"

"Yeah of course, what about Lexi?"

"Well I was thinking we might leave her and Libby at home, you know Libby won't like shopping, so we'll pick up some things for Lexi and Dad can look after them both, take them to the park or something maybe, and we'll go shopping and maybe have lunch out somewhere"

"Yeah that sounds good Mum"

"Remember to do your homework at some point today as well"

"I haven't got any"

"What do you mean you haven't got any? You should have homework every weekend"

"Well luckily not all the teachers listen to you and don't set it every weekend"

"I shall be having words with your teachers then" Rachel said, she wasn't being serious though, she would never use her daughter as an excuse to spy on the teachers.

As soon as Georgie was finished in the shower, she got out and wrapped a towel around herself, she couldn't resist using some of Rachel's perfume, it smelt so good.

When she got to her room, Amelia came in.

"Mum says I can come shopping, I think Lexi and Libby are staying here with Dad though"

"Oh that's good" Georgie said, she'd never really been properly shopping before, so she was looking forward to it.

"I was thinking, do you want to borrow some of my clothes to wear, just until you've got some new ones"

"Oh yes please, that would be great" Georgie said gratefully

"Come and have a look at what I've got" Amelia said

Georgie followed Amelia through to her room

"Your room Is so pretty" Georgie said

"Thanks, I'm sure Dad would do yours up too if you asked him, he's been on about updating that room for ages'

"Well I'll probably only be here for a couple of days" Georgie said, sounding quite sad about this.

"I hope you stay longer" Amelia said

She then opened up her wardrobe and Georgie looked through

"Borrow anything you like"

Georgie had never seen so many clothes before, she couldn't believe how lucky Amelia was, although she didn't come across as spoilt at all.

After looking through for ages Georgie eventually chose a dark green jumper and tartan skirt with tights.

Georgie looked like she was about to say something but then hesitated

"Do you need anything else?" Amelia prompted

"Well it's just .. do you have a spare bra and knickers" Georgie asked her face going bright red, "I only took one set with me"

"Oh yes of course, they're just in my drawer here" Amelia said opening it for her

"Thanks" Georgie said grabbing some quickly grabbing some, "Don't tell anyone I needed to borrow some"

"I won't don't worry" Amelia promised, she felt really sorry for Georgie, she seemed so nice but her and Lexi literally didn't seem to have anything.

Georgie then went off, she dried her hair, which seemed to have much more life to it after using Rachel's shampoo and conditioner, before getting changed. It felt amazing to wear something clean, when she looked at herself in the mirror, she hardly recognised herself.

She then went downstairs to see everyone, Rachel smiled when she saw her, already she looked so much better.

"You look lovely" Rachel said, "Should we get going?"

"Yeah, I think Amelia is on her way down"

"She'll have probably forgotten a load of things and need to go upstairs about 50 times, although what she thinks she needs for going shopping is really quite beyond me"

A few minutes later Amelia came down so the three of them got in the car.

Naturally, Georgie got into the back so Amelia could sit in the front next to her Mum.

Amelia instantly started fiddling with some buttons, trying to get the radio on

"Amelia, I don't want any of your rubbish playing"

"It's not rubbish, I know you secretly like it too"

"No, I don't, and for god's sake turn the volume down, how am I supposed to concentrate when it's on that loud?"

"Okay, keep your hair on"

It felt so weird for Georgie watching Amelia and Rachel talking, there was no way she'd ever have been allowed to speak to her parents like that.

"Mum, can we go to Manchester"

"Oh do we have to? Manchester will take a good 25 minutes, and you know how much I hate finding parking there"

"Please Mum, there's so many more shops there than in town"

"Well I suppose so, although you better not stress me out while I try and park"

"I won't"

As they were driving there, Georgie suddenly felt tears in her eyes, she wasn't sure why, it was just seeing Amelia and Rachel together made her realise how much she'd missed out on by not having proper parents. The tears didn't go unnoticed by Rachel, but she decided not to comment, knowing it would just embarrass her.

They chatted a bit on the way and finally they arrived.

"Right girls, where do you want to head to first? I was thinking maybe start in boots, you can get anything you need Georgie and I need some makeup from there too, can you think of anything Lexi would need from there?"

"not really"

"I might get her some kids bubble bath, maybe it'll make her slightly less resistant to the idea of a bath then"

"Yeah she'd like that" Georgie said smiling

"Can I get some new mascara Mum, there's this new one by too faced that's just come out and they stock it in boots"

"When I was your age …" Rachel began

"The only makeup you'd ever get was the one out of the magazine you'd buy, you've told me about 50 times Mum" Amelia joked

"Well I'd cut the cheek young lady if you want it"

The three of them got out and headed straight to boots

"Georgie, just grab a basket and get whatever you need love" Rachel said, think then Georgie could just go around and get everything she needed and wouldn't feel as awkward having to ask for anything.

Georgie couldn't believe how nice Rachel was being, no one had ever bought her things like this before.

She picked up a few things she needed before heading back to find Amelia and Rachel.

"Sure that's everything you need?' Rachel asked, think Georgie's basket still looked pretty empty

"Yeah, thanks so much for getting them Rachel"

'no problem at all"

They took the stuff to the tills and Rachel paid

"Girls I need to nip to next, I want to get a few new bits for work, and I thought I could pick Lexi some clothes from there too, how about I get some money out and then you two can go off and get what you want" Rachel suggested, she didn't really want the two of them coming in with her anyway, knowing full well that Amelia wouldn't want to be there and would make that quite obvious.

"Okay, thanks Mum"

Rachel went to the cash point, she got some money out and handed some to the two of them.

"Rachel you don't have to give me all this" Georgie said, shocked by how much Rachel had given her

"It's absolutely fine, it's a one off for you to get everything you need, so don't worry about it"

The two of them then went off, it felt absolutely amazing for Georgie to be able to buy whatever she wanted. She got herself loads of different sets of clothes.

"I love this dress" Amelia said, pointing to a very short red dress in Topshop

"Why don't you get it"

"Mum would kill me if she found out that's what I've spent her money on" Amelia sighed

The two of them had a great time looking around all the shops, trying bits on and buying things, by the time they'd finished their hands were full from all the bags they were carrying.

Amelia texted Rachel to say they were finished and the three of them met up in a nice Italian restaurant.

"Hey girls, it looks like you had a good time" Rachel said smiling "I managed to find loads of stuff for Lexi and a few bits for me too"

"Me and Georgie got so many things, there was such a good sale on in river island"

"Oh well that's good then, I. don't know about you but all this shopping has made me feel starving" she said "I can't wait to get some pasta"

The three of them sat down and started looking at the menu, Georgie had never been to a proper restaurant before and she couldn't believe how many things there were to choose from.

"Georgie's starting at waterloo road on Monday" Rachel told Amelia

"Oh really, that'll be so good, what year will you be in? Year nine"

Georgie looked at Rachel, she had no idea what year she'd be in. Rachel had been thinking about it as well, she knew Georgie should be in year 9, but part of her was thinking maybe she'd be better in year 8 as she'd missed so much schooling.

"We'll see, I'm not quite sure yet"

It was lovely for Georgie to sit with Rachel and Amelia, for the first time ever she was feeling sort of like she was part of a family.

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was the Sunday evening and Rachel wasn't looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. The girls seemed to be settling a little more and they'd had a really nice day together today. It was getting late now, Rachel had already put Lexi to bed, and she had seemed to go to sleep straight away, she realised she should probably get Libby to bed too, otherwise she'd be hard to get out of bed tomorrow morning.

The girls were all sat in the living room watching some TV, Georgie and Amelia were chatting on the sofa and Libby was on the chair, she couldn't help but feel a little left out at the moment, her and Amelia had always been so close but now she seemed far more interested in talking to Georgie.

"Libby it's time for you to go to bed love" Rachel said

Libby pretended to ignore her, she'd been In a bit of a bad mood all evening, she hated Sundays as she dreaded going to school on the Monday.

"Libby bedtime" Rachel repeated.

Reluctantly Libby got up and went upstairs

"Girls I don't want you two staying up late either, you can have another half an hour then bed"

"Do you want to go up to my room and chat for a bit?' Amelia said, her Georgie were quickly becoming good friends, they loved being in each other's company.

"Sure"

The two of them ran upstairs and went into Amelia's room, closing the door behind them.

Rachel turned her attention back to Libby.

"I'll wait in your room while you go and brush your teeth" She said

Libby went off to the bathroom, she was feeling really worried about tomorrow and was starting to dread going in. She'd always found lessons quite hard but recently some of the girls in her class were being really mean to her, she hadn't told anyone about this though, so neither Rachel or James understood why she was so reluctant to go to school.

After she'd finished in the bathroom she went into her bedroom where Rachel was waiting for her.

"have you been to the loo?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not a baby, you don't need to ask me that" Libby snapped as she got into bed

Rachel was quite shocked at Libby talking to her like that, but she didn't say anything and started tucking her in.

"Mum I don't feel well" Libby lied

Rachel sighed heavily; they'd go through the same routine every Sunday night "What's wrong?"

"My head hurts, so does my stomach, and I feel hot and …"

"Right and I suppose this has nothing to do with the fact it's school tomorrow" Rachel said

Libby didn't say anything, just shrugged her shoulders

Rachel tucked a piece of Libby's blonde hair behind her ears.

"Darling, you've got to go to school, I know you're finding it hard at the moment but that doesn't mean you can just stay home."

Libby wished she could tell her Mum what was really going on, but she felt too scared to.

"Okay" Libby whispered

"Good girl, now I want that light out in 10 minutes okay"

"Mum, what's happening to Lexi tomorrow?" Libby asked

"Well luckily James spoke to Grandma earlier and she has agreed to have her for the day" Rachel said "I wanted to take her in with me, but I've got so many meetings, so it makes more sense for her to go with Grandma"

"Yeah that makes sense"

"she asked if you wanted to go over next week actually, maybe sleepover on Friday, what do you think about that hmm?"

"yeah maybe" Libby said

"Alright love, well sleep tight, I'll see you in the morning" she said, giving her a quick kiss goodnight "Love you lots'

"Love you too'

Rachel then closed her door and left.

Georgie and Amelia were in Amelia's room, they were sat on her bed chatting.

"Are you looking forward to school tomorrow?" Amelia asked, to which Georgie pulled a face

"It's not that bad, some of the teachers are quite nice"

"What's your Mum like at school?"

"Strict, I just stay out of her way most of the time though, except sometimes you can't, like the other week she caught me and my friends mucking about in PE and she got really annoyed about it"

"We have to do PE?"

"Yeah course, we have it twice a week, sometimes you can make up an excuse though"

"Like what?"

"Like if you've got your period or something, but you need a note from someone at home and Mum knows I haven't started mine yet so I couldn't really lie…have you started yours yet Georgie?"

Georgie's cheeks went red "Yeah but I've only had it once" she said

"What's it like?"

"I guess it just makes your stomach hurt, and it's really embarrassing" Georgie mumbled

"Well at least you can use it to get out of PE"

"Do we all have to get changed together for PE"

"Yeah, normally"

"But I can't" Georgie said suddenly sounding worried

"Why not?" Amelia asked

"Because my skins all sore still and It looks weird" She said "I really don't want to do it"

"You can get changed in the toilets if you wanted, but honestly nobody would care" Amelia said

Georgie started biting her nails, she was beginning to feel really nervous about school now.

"I wonder what year you'll be in; I hope Mum puts you in my year"

"I still can't believe Rachel's the head, she seems too nice"

"Wait until tomorrow, it's like as soon as she puts her work suit on she changes, she's always a nightmare on a school morning'

Georgie was about to reply but suddenly Rachel came in "Who's a nightmare on a morning" she asked

"You are' Amelia said

"oi you cheeky little madam" Rachel said pretending to smack her over the head

"Well it's true, you're always nagging us"

"Maybe if you would just get ready on time for once I wouldn't have to, would I?" Rachel retorted "Anyway, I want you girls in your beds now, we'll be up bright and early tomorrow"

"Oh can't we stay up just a bit longer?" Amelia asked

"Nope, come on, start getting changed into your pyjamas"

Reluctantly Amelia agreed so Georgie went back into her room and put on her new pyjamas before getting into bed. It still felt surreal to have a room as nice as this all to herself, she wondered how long it would all last for though.

A couple of minutes later there was a knock on the door and Rachel came in

"Hey love, you all comfy, do you want anything?"

"Yeah I'm all good thank you"

"Okay, well try and get to sleep soon, remember shout if you need anything"

"Rachel, can I ask you something about school?"

"Yes of course, it tends to be my area of expertise"

"What year am I going to be in?"

Rachel had thought about this quite a bit, she knew it would make sense to keep Georgie back a year after all the school she'd missed but then again she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable with people younger than her.

"Where do you want to be Georgie?"

"In Amelia's year' She answered instantly

"Okay then that's what we'll do and maybe review in a week or so okay?"

"Can I be in Amelia's form?"

"I think maybe it might be good for you to have different groups of friends, although I'm sure she'll help you settle in" Rachel suggested

"Okay" Georgie said, although she sounded a little hesitant about this.

"Anyway, you'll have to come up to my office tomorrow anyway to talk about your timetable and everything so we can discuss it some more then okay? I think you should try and get some sleep now though" Rachel said

"Okay, night Rachel"

"Night, night' she said, before closing the door.

Rachel then went back downstairs; she had a glass of wine with James and chatted for a bit, before the two of them decided they were going to go to bed.

As they were going up they heard someone walking across the landing, when they reached the top of the stairs they realised it was Lexi, she instantly looked scared when she saw them.

"Hey Lexi, I thought you were asleep" Rachel said

"I was but then I woke up" Lexi explained

"Oh, is everything okay?" James asked

"I had a bad dream" Lexi said

"Oh dear" Rachel said scooping the little girl up in her arms, "Why don't I go and tuck you back in"

"Can I go and sleep and Georgie's bed" Lexi asked

"no darling, Georgie's sleeping" Rachel replied "Come on we'll get you all comfy"

She carried Lexi through and put her back in her bed.

"Now the thing you've got to remember about dreams is even though they can seem horrible and scary, they're not real and you're nice and safe here"

"But my dream was real once, I dreamt about Dad and how he used to get scary"

A lump formed in Rachel's throat "Lexi nothing like that is going to happen to you here, I promise, neither me or James would ever get angry like that, not ever"

"Do you promise?"

"I promise" Rachel said "Now how about I stay with you until you back to sleep?'

"Okay"

It didn't take Lexi long at all to go back to sleep, after she did Rachel left her room and got into bed herself

"Was she okay?" James asked

"Yeah she was fine, she went straight back to sleep' Rachel said "Do you know I'm actually amazed at the way they've settled in, they really do seem to be feeling more relaxed now'

Rachel sand James chatted for a bit longer before they went to sleep.

It was about 2 when Rachel was woken up, she jumped as someone was tapping her.

Sleepily she opened her eyes and saw Libby stood over her.

"Libby go back to sleep" she mumbled

"I can't, I woke up and now I can't go back to sleep, can I sleep in your bed"

Rachel sighed, she moved over in bed and held out her hand for Libby to get in next to her.

Libby instantly snuggled up to her Mum

"Now straight to sleep, it's the middle of the night"

"It's not night time anymore" Libby pointed out

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"your clock says it's 2am so it's actually morning"

"Go to sleep Libby" Rachel said

Libby was quiet for a few minutes and then said "Mum are you asleep"

"Yes" Rachel mumbled

"Well you're not that's why you're still replying'

"Oh Libby, I'm trying to go to sleep, what is it?' Rachel said sounding frustrated

"When can we get a dog"

"Do you really think now's the time to discuss that?"

Libby was quiet for a couple more minutes and Rachel was falling back to sleep

"Mum"

"Libby if you don't button it, you'll have to go back to your bedroom"

"I don't think I'll be well enough for school tomorrow"

"There's not a chance we're having this discussion again, now it's either you go to sleep or you back to your bedroom, your choice" Rachel warned, she knew she was being harsh but all she wanted to do was go back to sleep

"Okay, night Mum"

"Night, now please go to sleep"

After a little bit more fidgeting Libby did eventually go to sleep.

As always, the alarm went off far too quickly, James had already left for work and Rachel was so comfortable in bed, she decided to switch it off for 5 minutes.

This was a mistake, she ended up going back to sleep for another half hour. She slowly woke up and then got a shock when she saw the time.

"Shit" she said as jumped out of bed

"Mum that's a bad word" Libby said "you were really annoyed when Amelia said it that time"

"Libby get up and start getting dressed, we're late"

Rachel quickly put some makeup on and did her hair, before getting into her work stuff, she'd normally have a shower on a morning, but she'd have to do without this morning.

She then went into the girl's rooms and woke them up.

Eventually everyone was ready, so they went downstairs for a quick breakfast.

"Amelia can you please sort that skirt out, it's bordering on down right ridiculous" Rachel said

Amelia sighed but pulled it down a little bit, she knew better than to mess with her Mum first thing in a morning.

It was strange for Georgie to see Rachel like this, she seemed different now she was in work mode.

"Right, school time" Rachel said once they'd all finished their breakfast.

"Mum I feel sick, I can't go" Libby said

"Libby we are not having this conversation, you're going to school and that's final" Rachel said sounding quite strict now.

Libby really didn't want to go in but knew there wasn't anything else she could do.

The five of them got in the car and drove off, they dropped Lexi off first, then Libby and then drove to Waterloo road.

Georgie felt nervous as they pulled in, it looked so big and the children looked scary. There were some boys messing around and shoving one another.

Rachel got out the car, "Lads pack it in and get to your class please" she said

Georgie felt really scared now, she wasn't sure if she was going to fit in here.

"Right, Amelia why don't you go up to class, Georgie come with me to my office"

Georgie followed Rachel up, she felt really anxious, part of her wanted to run off, but she went into Rachel's office. It felt a bit calmer in their at least.

"Rachel, I've had Mike Hill on the phone, he wants your full Science budget reports by 12 today" Bridget said

Rachel sighed, "Right, well tell him I'll get it done as soon as I've got a minute"

"I also had an incident report handed in, one of the year 10 boys has damaged one of the windows near the back of school"

"What? Damaged how?" Rachel sighed, this was already turning into a nightmare of a morning

"Threw a brick through it"

"Oh for gods sake, is he in the cooler?'

"Yep, it's Shay Mitchell"

"Right, I'll deal with that now, Georgie, go through to my office, I'll be back as soon as I can .. in fact Bridget, will you do a new starter form with Georgie"

"Yes of course" she said

"Thank you" Rachel said squeezing her shoulder, before rushing off downstairs.

Georgie sat with Bridget to fill the form out, it didn't take that long to do and Rachel still wasn't back by the time they'd finished.

"Do you want a drink or anything while you wait?"

"No thank you" Georgie said

It took another 10 minutes or so before Rachel turned back up again. She looked quite stressed out.

"Sorry Georgie, I had a few things to sort, anyway, let's go through some stuff then I'll take you through to your form group." Rachel said

She got some forms and things out and went through them with Georgie, it took them quite a while to go through everything.

"Right I think we're finally sorted, I'll print your timetable, it looks like you've got English first with Miss Cooper, I'll take you over there now, and remember any problems throughout the day just come straight to me okay?"

Rachel was worried about Georgie, she also was a bit apprehensive about the form group she'd put her in, but it was the emptiest one so it made the most sense to put her in there.

Georgie felt incredibly nervous, her stomach was in knots.

"Right, here we are" Rachel said, before knocking on the classroom door. As she went in he could see that the kids were just mucking around, there was lots of talking and Miss cooper looked quite nervous stood at the front.

As soon as Rachel walked in the kids instantly quietened down and started looking as if they were working.

"Put your things down and look this way" Rachel ordered "Now when I walked in I was not impressed by what I saw, not one bit, when you're in class you do not sit and chatter, you focus and get on with work, anyone failing to do that and follow our expectations I want sending straight to me, now is that clear?"

They all nodded, feeling quite sheepish now

"Miss Cooper, this is Georgie, it's her first day today"

"Thank you miss mason; Georgie go and take a seat there next to Michelle"

Rachel waited for a moment before smiling at Georgie and then walking off, she really hoped everything would be okay.

Georgie could feel all eyes on her, it made her feel really uncomfortable

"Miss can she sit somewhere else, I don't want her next to me" she said

Georgie instantly felt a lump form in her throat, she hated things like this.

"Yeah we don't like it when new people join our form" someone else said "can't you go back to your old school"

"why's she so skinny, have you got something wrong with you"

Georgie felt like she could cry, she felt horrible and wanted to leave.

"Oi settle down the lot of you, you heard what Miss Mason said" Miss cooper shouted

The taunting didn't really seem to stop, Georgie wished she could stand up for herself but didn't know what to say.

She wished the ground would swallow her up, she was determined she was never going to come back after today, she hated it here

"Georgie, what do you think about the poem?" Miss Cooper asked

Georgie jumped, she hadn't been paying attention.

"Erm.. I .. I .." Georgie stammered

The class instantly started to laugh, much to Georgie's dismay.

"so she's stupid as well"

Georgie felt her eyes well up with tears, she instantly tried to brush them away.

After what seemed like forever the bell went. Georgie had no idea where she was supposed to go next, she saw on her timetable she had Science but she didn't know where that was.

"Are you lost?" One of the boys asked, coming over to her

Georgie nodded

"Where are you going?"

"Science"

"well to get to the Science block, you need to go left then carry on walking then right and then first on the left"

"Okay, thanks" Georgie said, it was the first time someone had been nice to her all day.

Georgie went off, the boys were laughing behind her, but she didn't notice.

It was only when she got there, she realised this was definitely not the science block. Georgie couldn't believe how awful everyone had been here.

She was already late for her next lesson and didn't want to stay here any longer. She decided to make a run for it, she figured it was such a big school that there was no way anyone would realise she was gone; she'd just come back up for the end of school.

She waited in the toilets for a little bit before running out of school, luckily no one saw her. Georgie didn't really know where she was going, it was freezing and had just started to rain, she didn't have a coat to keep her warm.

Now she was out of school she didn't really know what to do with herself, she walked around for an hour or so, although the rain was getting quite heavy now.

She realised she was quite hungry so went to the little corner shop and bought herself a can of coke and a bag of crisps, before going to the park to eat it.

Georgie was getting really bored, and she was shivering from the cold, time seemed to be dragging.

Rachel was starting to feel less stressed now, she'd done most of the jobs for the morning. She wondered how Georgie was getting on, she'd looked so scared when she'd left her this morning and looked really young compared to the other kids, despite the fact she was older than them.

She decided to check up on her, she thought she could just walk past whichever class she was in and check she looked settled.

She did a quick search and realised she should be In Maths, so went for a walk over there, when she walked past her classroom however, she realised she wasn't in there.

Rachel was a bit confused but thought she'd maybe just gone to the toilet or something, so she knocked on the door.

"Mr Clarkson, sorry to interrupt, can I have a quick word"

Tom followed Rachel outside "Sorry Tom, I just wanted to check where Georgie is?"

"Georgie? Oh she's the new girl, I saw she was on the register, but she didn't turn up"

"What?" Rachel said confused

"yeah and she was marked as absent for her last lesson too"

"Oh right, thanks Tom" Rachel said

She instantly began to feel worried; Georgie didn't seem the type of girl to skive off, plus it was pouring down with rain outside.

Rachel had a look round school, checking all the usual spots the kids would hide out in, she realised she wasn't there though.

She put her coat on and grabbed her car keys.

"Bridget, I've got to go out over lunch, I'll be back as soon as I can, anything urgent, just call me"

"Okay, no problem, I'll let people know if they co me looking for you" Bridget said

"Thanks"

Rachel then went out; she ran over to her car and got in.

She didn't really know where to look for her, she tried all the local shops and streets but couldn't see her anywhere. Rachel was getting really worried by now.

She decided to try the park, although she didn't think Georgie would have gone there.

When she pulled up she saw someone on one of the benches, as she got closer she realised it was Georgie, she was soaked through and shivering.

Rachel instantly got out and ran over, Georgie couldn't believe it when she saw Rachel, she never expected her to find her here, panic began to flood through her, but she was also sort of relieved, she was freezing out here.

"Georgie, what the hell are you doing here?' Rachel asked "You should be in school"

"I hate it there, everyone was horrible and I'm not going back, you can't make me"

Rachel sighed, she suddenly felt really sorry for her, after all she'd had a horrendous few weeks.

"Get in the car, it's freezing and your soaked through, we'll talk in there"

Georgie didn't need telling twice, she instantly ran over to the car and got in.

Rachel got in beside her.

"I'm not going back to school" Georgie repeated "I'll run away if you try and make me"

"Georgie I'm sorry you didn't have a very nice time" Rachel said "I promise we can fix things, but you can't just run off, I was worried about you, you should have come and seen me"

"I always used to run off at my old school and no one used to care then"

"Well I care Georgie, and I want you to be happy in school"

"Why would you care? We're not even going to be living with you for much longer"

Rachel thought for a moment before saying, "It doesn't have to be like that, well not if you don't want it to be"

"What do you mean?"

"If you wanted, you and Lexi can stay with us permanently, we love having you and I know we haven't known each other long but I want you to be part of the family"

Georgie didn't say anything for a moment or so, she couldn't believe what Rachel had just said "What you mean like forever?"

"If that's something you'd want"

"But you've already got Amelia and Libby"

"Well there's plenty of room for you as well"

Georgie couldn't believe it, nothing like this had ever happened to her before. She didn't say anything but wrapped her arms around Rachel.

Rachel was a little taken a back, Georgie had never hugged her before, but put her arms around her.

"Is that a yes then?" Rachel asked to which Georgie nodded.

"Thank you Rachel" Georgie whispered

"It's okay' Rachel said "now, we also need to decide about school, I know putting you in that form group was probably a bit of a mistake, I know there's some .. er challenging characters there should we say. How about I move you to Amelia's group, for the time being, they're a really nice form group and I know Amelia will look after you"

"Yeah I'd like that"

"Okay, so how about we go home, you can dry off and get yourself sorted then we'll go back to school"

The two of them then drove back home, Georgie couldn't believe how happy she was feeling.

Please review/suggest ideas xxx


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A couple of weeks had passed and both Georgie and Lexi were loving being part of the family. They'd started to feel much more at home now, Georgie and Amelia were getting on really well, as were Lexi and Libby, it felt like they'd known each other a lot longer than the few weeks they had.

It was a Saturday and Rachel ended up sleeping in for once, she got a surprise when she looked at the clock and saw that it was gone nine, she'd never normally sleep that long. James had already got up, so Rachel enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet before getting out of bed. She brushed her hair and wrapped her dressing gown around herself.

She walked downstairs and saw that James was in the kitchen, so walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Morning Rach" he said, "I can't believe you slept in, when does that ever happen?"

"I know I couldn't believe it when I saw the time, you should have woken me up"

"You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to disturb you. You want a coffee?"

"Oh yes please, you're a star"

James kissed his wife on the lips, however just as he did Amelia walked in.

"Eww you two are so gross' she said

"We're only kissing" Rachel said laughing and Amelia pulled a face back.

"Is everyone else up?' Rachel asked

"Libby and Lexi are but Georgie isn't" Amelia said, "can me and Georgie go to a party tonight?"

James immediately looked to Rachel, she was always the one who seemed to make the decisions about this sort of thing, Rachel sighed, she didn't really like the idea of them going off to a party, especially Amelia who was only 13.

"Who's party"

"Harry's in Georgie's year, literally everyone's going"

"I don't know Amelia, I'm not sure it's a good idea, especially for you"

"What do you mean? I'm nearly as old as Georgie, it's only a party, it's not like we're going clubbing"

"I should hope not young lady" Rachel said, "Will there be alcohol at this party?"

"Probably but I obviously wouldn't drink"

This put Rachel off the idea even more, she knew Amelia was quite sensible, but like any teenager she could be easily led by her friends, and she did think she was far too young for any of that.

"Let me have a think about it, I'm just not sure it's a good idea"

"But it's not just up to you, Dad has a say. Dad please let me go" Amelia begged

James looked a little put on the spot, he would normally stay out of things like this and let Rachel take charge.

James just sort of shrugged his shoulders looking a little helpless.

"I guess if you promise to be sensible and one of us picks you up then it should be okay" James said, causing Rachel to roll her eyes.

"Yayy, thanks so much Dad" Amelia said smiling

"Well it's up to your Mum"

Amelia then turned to Rachel "Mum please let me go, I promise I won't get into any trouble"

Rachel sighed, realising she didn't have much choice "okay, but if I get even a hint that you've done anything you shouldn't then I won't be able to trust you in the future when it comes to things like this will I? And if you are going, I expect best behaviour all day today"

"I promise I'll be sensible" Amelia said feeling really excited now, "me and Georgie might go into town later and get a new dress"

"How can you possibly need more dresses?' James asked

"I just fancy something new"

"I swear you must get something new every other day" he said laughing

Amelia chatted to them for a bit longer before heading upstairs.

"I hope they're okay at this party" James said sounding a bit worried

"You're the one who told her she could go"

"No, you said she could, I told her it was up to you"

"Only after you'd told her it was okay and funnily enough; I didn't feel like being the bad cop all day"

Amelia went straight up to Georgie's room, Georgie had woken up about 10 minutes ago but wasn't feeling all that well, her stomach was hurting quite badly.

"Georgie guess what? Mum said we could go to the party" Amelia said sounding excited

"Really! I can't believe she said yes" Georgie said smiling "Should we go into town later to get a new outfit?"

"Yeah, I'm so excited' Amelia said.

The girls chatted for a bit longer before Amelia left Georgie to get ready. Slowly Georgie got out of bed, however when she did, she got a shock when she realised there was blood on the bedsheets. She couldn't believe this had happened and felt really embarrassed by it. She didn't have any pads and didn't want to ask Rachel for some. She also didn't know how she was going to clean her bedsheets without anyone noticing.

She quickly took the sheets off the bed and bundled them up along with her pyjamas. She decided to put them in the washing basket and hope that no one would notice.

Georgie was just about to leave when there was a knock at the door.

"Georgie, are you up yet? Do you want some breakfast?" Rachel called through

"Yeah I'm up, and I'm okay thanks"

"Can I come in?"

"I'm getting changed"

"Okay well come downstairs when you're ready"

Georgie waited a couple of minutes before heading out onto the landing and putting her stuff in the washing basket.

She decided to look in Rachel's bathroom for pads, so went across there. To her surprise when she went in Rachel was in there doing her makeup, she was sure she'd gone back downstairs.

"Hey love, did you need me?"

"Erm ..no I was just going to use your bathroom, Libby's in the other one"

"oh okay" Rachel said, she couldn't help but think Georgie was acting weirdly.

Georgie went in, she opened the cupboard but couldn't see any in there, she looked in the little drawer but there wasn't any there either, so she ended up just using toilet paper, she felt really upset and scared, she hated being a girl sometimes.

"Were you looking for something love?" Rachel asked as she'd heard Georgie open the cupboard.

"No" Georgie said her cheeks flushing, Rachel could tell something was up and had a feeling what it might be.

"You sure? You know if you need anything at all you can tell me" Rachel prompted

Georgie thought for a minute but realised she'd be better off just telling Rachel, she would probably find out anyway when she did the wash.

"I came on my period and I don't have any pads" Georgie explained, not looking her sister in the eye.

Rachel felt sorry for her, she was clearly so embarrassed about telling her this.

"Oh okay, well if you go into the drawer next to my bed there's some in there" Rachel said

"Thanks"

"That's alright, you know it's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's something that happens to all women."

To her surprise Georgie started to cry. Rachel immediately went over to her and put an arm around her.

"Oh sweetie, what's the matter?"

"I don't know, it just feels weird and I don't want anyone to know"

"It's not your first period is it?" Rachel asked, thinking Georgie seemed quite upset about it.

"No, my second, I started really late"

"Well it takes some getting used to, but I promise you can talk to me whenever you need to, there's absolutely no way I would tell anyone else" Rachel said

"Thanks" Georgie mumbled "It got onto the bedsheets and my pyjamas"

"Don't worry about that, it always comes out in the wash, did you put them in the laundry basket?"

Georgie nodded.

"Okay well I'll put them through the wash in a minute" Rachel said, "Do you need any painkillers?"

"Yes please, my stomach really hurts"

Rachel went into her bathroom cupboard and got some paracetamol out.

"There you go, I'm sure that'll help"

"Thanks Rachel" Georgie said

'That's alright and remember if you need anything else just come and find me"

"Yeah I will"

"I heard you and Amelia are off to a party tonight, that'll be fun huh?"

"Yeah I'm really looking forward to it"

"Well remember I want you to be sensible, no alcohol okay?"

"I promise I won't drink" Georgie said, although in reality some of her friends were planning to bring some vodka. Georgie had never been drunk before and was excited to see what it was like, even if it meant going behind Rachel's back, she was hoping she'd never find out about it though.

The morning seemed to pass quite quickly after that, Georgie and Amelia got on with some homework and James took Libby and Lexi out to the park while Rachel did some housework.

When they got back Rachel started getting some lunch ready, James came in while Rachel was preparing pizzas.

'Hey how was the park?" she asked

"It was alright, Libby's in a terrible mood though"

"Oh really? That doesn't sound like Libby' Rachel said sounding a bit worried.

"Yeah she was really stroppy"

"She was really quiet after school yesterday come to think of it" Rachel said "I'll have a chat with her about it at some point"

Libby was finding school especially difficult at the moment; she was getting bullied by some of the other children in her class and over the last week it had been worse than ever. She didn't want to tell anyone about it though. She hadn't been sleeping very well either and felt really upset and stressed all the time.

About 20 minutes later Rachel called them all down for lunch.

They all sat down at the table and started eating.

"Is it okay if me and Georgie go into town after lunch?" Amelia asked

"Have you done all of your homework?" Rachel asked

"Yep all of it" Amelia replied

"Me too, I didn't have that much anyway"

"Okay then, do you want a lift?"

"We can get a bus" Amelia said "I'm so excited for tonight"

"Well just make sure you're careful, I'm still not sure about you going" Rachel said

"Mum I'm sure you went out when you were our age"

James laughed at this "I've heard all sorts of stories about your Mum when she was younger" he said causing Rachel to slap him playfully

"Excuse me I don't know what you mean" she said, although she knew she'd been a nightmare during her teenage days

"well if the night we met is anything to go by, I'd say the stories were true" James said laughing

"Why? What happened?" Amelia asked desperate to find out

"Let's just say your Mum was a tad worse for wear" James said

"Really!" Amelia said, she'd never seen her Mum properly drunk before

"Oi I think that's quite enough about that," Rachel said "Lexi eat the tomatoes they're good for you"

"But they taste all weird" Lexi said, she had really come out of her shell over the last few weeks and was much more comfortable around the house now, she no longer seemed all shy and scared.

"You'll like them if you give them a proper try"

"A boy at my school was sick everywhere after he had tomatoes" Lexi argued

"I'm sure it wasn't because of the tomatoes"

"It was, it was straight after he ate them, it was all over the floor and it was disgusting"

"Not at the table Lexi" Rachel said

"Why?"

"Because we're eating our food and don't want to think about that, thank you very much"

"Why are you saying thank you?" Lexi asked

"Just get on and eat your lunch Lexi" Rachel said "Libby you've barely touched your food"

"I'm not hungry" Libby mumbled

"You didn't eat much at dinner last night either" James pointed out "try and eat some more"

"I don't want it" Libby said "Leave me alone"

"Watch your tone" James warned

"No, I won't"

"Excuse me" Rachel said, "Don't talk to your Dad like that, apologise"

"no" Libby retorted

Rachel raised her eyebrows but remained calm. "Right, then I think you'd better go upstairs and wait in your room until you are ready to apologise"

"Fine" Libby said, as she stroppily got up from the table.

Rachel noticed Amelia was giggling and threw her a look.

The rest of them finished their meal and then the girls disappeared off

"Why does Libby seemed to have turned into a teenager over night?" James said

"Honestly, what was all that about?" Rachel said "I can see what you mean about her being stroppy now"

"I wonder what's up" 

"I don't know, school seems to be going pretty okay at the moment, her parents evening a couple of weeks ago was all fine"

"It's just not like her"

"I'll go up and have a talk" Rachel said "Can you clear up?'

"Sure"

Rachel walked upstairs and over to Libby's room, she knocked once before entering and closing the door behind her.

She found Libby sat in bed, so Rachel went and sat down next to her

"Right young lady, you want to tell me what that was about?"

"Sorry" Libby mumbled, before starting to cry

Rachel instantly softened towards her, she hated seeing Libby upset.

"Hey, hey Libby don't cry" she said, her voice gentle now

Libby was crying harder and Rachel could tell something was wrong, she put an arm around her.

Libby relaxed against her Mum, it felt nice and comforting to snuggle into her.

Rachel let her cry into her for a bit and rubbed her back.

"What's wrong Lib, tell me what's happened?"

"Nothing, I'm okay"

"You don't seem okay, you can tell me anything, I promise"

"It's nothing, I just feel bad about shouting"

"Are you sure? You know If you've got anything you want to say to me, I won't get mad and neither will Dad"

"There's nothing, I'm sorry for shouting"

"Okay, well why don't you dry your eyes and then we'll go on a walk together, James and Lexi can come too"

"What about Georgie and Amelia?"

"They're going into town" Rachel explained

"Oh okay" Libby said, she missed spending time with Amelia, now that Georgie was around, she hardly ever seemed to see her.

"Mum I have a bit of a tummy-ache" Libby said

"Oh really? When did that start?"

"The other day, but it's worse now"

"Do you feel sick?"

"A little bit"

"Why didn't you tell me the other day it was hurting love?"

"It wasn't that bad then"

"Well maybe a walk and some fresh air will help, we'll give it a try yeah?"

Libby nodded her head.

Rachel got a tissue, so Libby dried her eyes and then they talked downstairs together.

"You feeling in a better mood now?" James asked, Rachel threw him a look though to tell him not to go on.

"Sorry for shouting" Libby said

"It's bad enough with two teenagers in the house without you turning into one as well" James said, but he was joking now

"Lib why don't you go and play with Lexi before we go, she's in the garden I think" Rachel suggested

Libby went off leaving Rachel and James alone

"There's definitely something up, she just burst into tears as soon as I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't say what was wrong"

"Well I guess we'll keep an eye" James said

'I said we'd go for a walk if you fancy it?"

"of course,' James said "My friend John has just been on the phone"

"Oh, how is he?" Rachel asked

"He's good, wants to know if we fancy a camping trip next weekend"

"Camping?" Rachel said doubtfully, something about the idea of staying in a tent didn't overly appeal to her.

"Yeah, it'll be fun" James said sounding really enthusiastic "I haven't been camping since I was a teenager"

"Love I'm just not sure I'm the camping type" Rachel said

"Rach it'll be great, we can go for some nice walks, have a BBQ, few bottles of wine while the kids are in bed"

Rachel could see James was really set on the idea and felt bad saying no to him, although she wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

"okay" Rachel sighed "Although you better invest in some warm blankets for us"

James smiled "Thanks Rach, I'll make sure we have a good time, and I promise I'll organise everything for the trip"

"I'll believe that when I see it" Rachel said laughing.

The rest of the day seemed to pass relatively smoothly. Libby remained quiet for most of the day and went off to her room really early.

Before long it was time for Amelia and Georgie to start getting ready, they decided to get ready together in Amelia's room.

"I'm so excited for tonight" Amelia said, as she went through her phone deciding which song to put on as they got ready

"Same it's going to be so fun, are you going to drink?"

"Shhh Mum will hear you" Amelia said "I'm not sure, Mum will go mad if I do but it would be quite fun to try"

"I'm sure she wouldn't find out" Georgie said "Kate said she'd let us share her vodka"

Amelia felt quite excited now, but also nervous at the thought of going to a proper party.

'How do you do your eyeshadow like that?" Amelia asked admiring Georgie's makeup

"I'll do yours if you like" Georgie offered

"Yes please"

Georgie brought the palette over and started working on her eyes

"It's so annoying how I came on my period earlier" Georgie sighed "my stomachs been hurting all day"

"I can't believe I still haven't started mine, literally all my friends have, do you think there's something wrong with me?"

"No don't worry, I didn't start mine until I was 14"

"I hope I start soon; I feel like such a baby"

"Don't be daft, as soon as they do start, you'll wish you didn't have them"

Rachel was downstairs with James watching some TV, she could hear music blaring from Amelia's room

'I'm going to tell them to turn that crap down" she said "I've just put Lexi to sleep and it's bound to wake her up"

"You'll be popular then" James said laughing

"I don't care, I'm still not overly keen on the idea of them going"

"What time are they going?"

"8 I think, apparently they're getting a lift back, although I've told them any later than midnight and it's trouble'

Rachel then headed upstairs; she couldn't believe how loudly the music was blasting. She knocked once on her daughter's bedroom before going in.

"Girls that music is ridiculously loud, turn it down please, Libby and Lexi are in bed"

Amelia turned it down straight away, they wanted to make sure they kept Rachel sweet so she wouldn't change her mind about letting them go.

"Sorry Mum"

"That's alright, I just don't want you waking them up that's all. You both look really nice; will you be ready to go soon?"

"Yeah we just need to do our hair and get changed"

"Okay 20 minutes then"

Rachel then closed the door, she decided to check on Lexi and Libby while she was up there. When she went into Lexi's room, she saw that she was fast asleep, so left her in peace.

Rachel then went into Libby's room and found her wide awake, she looked like she'd been crying again.

"Hey sweetie, is everything okay?" Rachel asked sitting down next to her "I just wanted to check up on you"

"Yeah I'm okay" Libby said

Rachel was really worried about Libby but didn't want to push her or keep going on at her.

"It's still early, and it's not your bedtime yet, why don't you come and watch some TV with me and Dad?"

Libby thought about it for a second but decided it was better than being up here upset on her own.

"Okay"

"Come on then, I'll even make some hot chocolate for us"

Libby got out of bed and followed Rachel downstairs into the living room.

"Hey lib, you okay?" James asked

"She's just come down to watch Tv with us for a bit. Lib why don't you choose what to watch and I'll make the hot chocolate"

"Oi what about the football" James said

"James, we don't want to watch the football, besides the game was on earlier wasn't it? We all heard you shouting about it" Rachel said

"This is the highlights though" 

"So you want us to sit here and watch something we're not the slightest bit interested in and you've already seen?" Rachel said jokingly

"You say you're not interested but when we won the cup last year you were as hooked as anyone else to the match"

"Yes but I don't think watching a game back where we already know the outcome is quite the same is it?"

Libby giggled, it was funny watching her parents bicker with each other over stupid things, it made her feel more normal.

"Honestly Libby just grab the remote off him" Rachel said

Libby laughed and took the remote, she went on Netflix and put an episode of outnumbered on, she always did love watching that.

Rachel came back in a couple of minutes later. Libby felt so much happier being with her Mum and Dad.

After a while the two older girls came downstairs. They both looked so much older, Georgie was wearing a red dress and Amelia a black one.

'Wow girls, you look fantastic" Rachel said, "Let me take some pictures"

Rachel got her mobile and took some pictures of the pair of them.

"Can we head off now?" Amelia asked

"Why don't I take them while you put Libby back to bed?" James offered

"Yeah that's a good idea" Rachel said "Right you two have a good night, but remember be careful, no alcohol at all and you're both back for 12, if you need anything at all you call us straight away"

"We'll be fine I promise" Amelia said

"Okay I'll see you later then"

When they were gone Rachel turned her attention back to Libby

"Right Mrs, I think it's bedtime, don't you?"

"Can I have 5 more minutes downstairs" Libby asked, she'd been really enjoying spending time alone with her parents, it was taking her mind off everything.

"Okay 5 minutes then bed"

They went back into the living room, Libby rested against her Mum and Rachel stroked her hair as they watched the TV.

About 10 minutes later, Rachel decided to get Libby to bed

"Bed time now Lib, your Dad will be back in a minute and he'll get a shock if you're still up"

"Can I not just stay down here a little bit longer?"

"We said 5 minutes, you've had at least 10, come on up to bed"

Reluctantly Libby went upstairs, and Rachel tucked her into bed.

"Night darling, have a good night's sleep, shout if you need anything okay?"

"Night Mum"

"Love you"

"Love you too"

Rachel kissed her gently on the forehead before leaving the room.

She went downstairs and sat and watched some TV with James.

Georgie and Amelia had just arrived at the party, already things were quite lively, and people had clearly already been drinking.

Georgie met up with some of her friends and they instantly poured her some vodka and mixed it with coke. None of them were used to drinking and had no idea how much a measurement was, so ended up pouring way too much.

Georgie supped it, she thought it tasted disgusting, but she felt excited about it at the same time.

"Georgie, you know my Mum will kill us if we come back drunk" Amelia said sounding worried

"Chill out Amelia, why don't you have some as well, come on it'll be a laugh" One of the girls said

Amelia felt nervous but decided to have one drink.

Georgie had already had about half of hers, it was already starting to go to her head, she was kind of enjoying the way it was making her feel. She was feeling a lot more confident than normal.

After a couple more drinks, she started to feel quite drunk. Most of her friends were the same way. They turned the music up really loudly and started dancing, Georgie couldn't believe how much fun she was having.

Amelia didn't really want to drink any more, she knew how annoyed her Mum would be if she came back drunk. She was just about to pour herself a drink of coke when one of the boys in the year above her called Tom came up behind her.

"Sorry I didn't mean to make you jump" he said apologetically.

"It's okay" Amelia said, she could feel herself blushing slightly, she'd always fancied Tom but he was older than her and very attractive, so she never really thought he'd notice her.\

"How are you finding the party?" he asked

"It's fun, I think Georgie's a bit drunk though" she said looking over at her, Georgie was dancing on one of the sofas with her friend

"Yeah" he said laughing "You fancy going outside with me for a bit"

"Sure"

Amelia followed him outside, she suddenly felt really nervous.

"You look really pretty" Tom said, "I mean you always look pretty"

"Oh thanks" Amelia said, feeling herself blushing even deeper now.

"I've always wanted to get to know you more, but you're with your friends all the time"

"I never realised you noticed me like that" Amelia said

"Of course, I did, you're the prettiest girl in your year"

"No, I'm not" Amelia argued smiling.

They stood outside chatting for ages, Amelia couldn't believe how at ease she was with him.

Suddenly she wrapped his arms around her and leaned in to kiss her.

Amelia panicked, she'd never kissed any one before and didn't feel like she was ready.

"We better get back inside" she said, before rushing off in leaving Tom feeling confused outside.

Georgie had drunk quite a bit more vodka at this point and was clearly very drunk.

She rushed up to Amelia as soon as she came in

"Amelia you should get drunk with us, I love you so much, I was so sad before I came to live with you and now, I'm really happy"

"Oh my god Georgie you're so drunk" Amelia said sounding worried

"Yeah but it's fun" Georgie said giggling 

"Don't have any more, mum will be mad" Amelia urged

"I'll just have a few little drinks and then I'll be good"

Before Amelia could stop her Georgie had poured herself some vodka shots which she drunk really quickly.

Suddenly Georgie felt really sick and had to dash to the bathroom. Amelia followed her in.

"Georgie are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine now" Georgie said but she was stumbling everywhere

"Do you want to go home? I'm kind of tired"

"No of course not" Georgie said laughing "We've still get loads of time to drink more and I promise I'll be fine when we get in" Georgie slurred

"Georgie please don't drink anymore" Amelia begged, she could see the state Georgie was in and was starting to get really worried.

Georgie took no notice though and carried on drinking.

About an hour passed and by this point Georgie was in a right state, she could barely stand up and was clearly extremely drunk.

Amelia didn't know what to do, there was no way Georgie could stay much longer, she would end up getting really ill.

"Georgie we need to go home" Amelia said sounding really distressed

"I'm not going home" Georgie argued, but then she ended up falling over.

"Oops" she giggled. She suddenly started feeling sick again, but this time couldn't get up to go to the bathroom so was sick all down herself

"I'm calling Mum" Amelia said nearly in tears

By this point Georgie was too out of it to care.

Amelia went outside, she felt so nervous about what Rachel would say but she knew she didn't have any choice but to tell her.

Rachel was just pouring herself and James a glass of wine when the phone rang, she saw it was Amelia so answered at once

"Hey Amelia, how's the party? Do you want picking up?"

Amelia didn't say anything but started crying, she just felt overwhelmed by everything

"Love what's the matter? Has something happened?"

"It's Georgie, she's really drunk and she's been sick all over herself, she can barely stand up. I tried to stop her I promise, but she just wouldn't listen" Amelia cried "Please don't be angry at me"

"Okay, I'll come over to get you both" Rachel said calmly, "I'm not angry at you, you've done the right thing"

Rachel couldn't believe Georgie had ended up in that state, but she knew there was no point getting angry now.

She told James what had happened before grabbing a change of clothes for Georgie and getting in the car.

It didn't take long at all to arrive. She went through and instantly found Georgie and Amelia.

Georgie was so drunk she barely recognised Rachel.

Rachel tapped her on the cheek "Georgie it's Rachel, can you hear me?"

Georgie didn't say anything but stirred slightly

"Mum I'm so sorry" Amelia said crying

"love it's not your fault, just help me get her to the car, away from everyone"

Rachel and Amelia had to practically carry Georgie to the car as she could barely walk.

They managed to get her into the passenger seat.

"Right what's she had to drink?" Rachel asked Amelia

"Vodka, she just kept doing shots of it"

"She's clearly been smoking as well" Rachel said as she could smell it clearly. "Has she taken anything else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Was anyone doing drugs? I'm not going to get mad I just need to know how she's ended up like this"

"No, they weren't"

"Okay, I brought a change of clothes but there's no point changing her now, I'll do it when we get back" Rachel said "Georgie we're going to go home okay"

"No, I want to stay" Georgie slurred

"Judging by the fact you're probably one shot away from needing a stomach pump it's probably not the best idea young lady" Rachel said, she felt really angry with Georgie but knew there was no point discussing that now, she was intending to give her a lecture tomorrow however.

Rachel started driving back home, she couldn't believe how the night had ended up.

Georgie was still really drunk and didn't properly understand what was happening or the kind of trouble she was in.

"I'm really proud of you Amelia you know"

"Why?" 

"Because of how sensible you were and for phoning me when things got out of hand"

"Is Georgie in loads of trouble?" Amelia asked sounding worried

"Yes, she is, getting in this state is not only stupid, it's also incredibly dangerous as well, but right now I think it's just best to focus on getting her home safe" Rachel sighed, she glanced across at Georgie who had fallen asleep.

A few minutes later they arrived back home. Rachel had to shake Georgie awake before she eventually stirred.

"Georgie, let's go inside, we'll get you nice and clean in the house"

With Rachel's help Georgie managed to go inside.

James walked into the hall, just as Georgie was sick again.

"Oh god what's she had to drink?" he asked immediately concerned

"A hell of a lot of vodka by the sound of it" Rachel said "James I'm worried about her"

"I'll check her over, although it's good she's still awake at least"

Rachel got Georgie onto the sofa and James quickly did some checks on her.

"She'll be okay, we just need to keep an eye on her, but she doesn't need to go into hospital"

This gave Rachel some comfort but she still felt concerned about Georgie.

"I'm going to wash her hair and change her into pyjamas" Rachel said

Georgie was still incredibly drunk but had sobered up slightly and was becoming more aware of what was happening.

Rachel led her upstairs and rinsed her hair out before changing her into some pyjamas and helping her into bed.

"Rachel, I'm sorry" Georgie slurred

Rachel sighed "It's going to take more than that I'm afraid, I can't believe the state you've got into, something really serious could have happened" Rachel said "But we'll talk about it in the morning okay, get some sleep"

Rachel stayed with Georgie until she went to sleep and kept checking to make sure she was okay.

Georgie woke up early the next morning, her head was pounding. Bits of last night began coming back to her, she couldn't believe what she'd done.

Tears started to fill her eyes, she was so embarrassed and knew how angry Rachel was with her, she was absolutely dreading facing her today.

Georgie laid in bed for ages, she wished she could turn back time and undo everything that had happened.

After a while her bedroom door opened, and Rachel came in, Georgie could tell by the look on her face she wasn't happy at all.

"Ah you're awake" Rachel said "Get up and come downstairs, you and I need to have a little chat I think" she added sharply

Georgie didn't dare argue, she dragged herself out of bed and wrapped her dressing gown around her before heading downstairs into the living room with Rachel.

She sat down on the sofa feeling really nervous.

"I don't need to tell you just how disappointed in you I am" Rachel said "Getting drunk like that is not only stupid it's also incredibly dangerous, you were practically unconscious when I found you, anything could have happened Georgie"

Georgie started to cry again, she felt so rubbish about herself.

"I just don't understand why you did it, you're a smart girl you know how stupid it is to drink like that"

"I just got carried away" Georgie mumbled

"That's no excuse, Georgie you're still so young, you've got so much time in the future for drinking but at your age there just isn't the need."

Georgie was sobbing now, and Rachel couldn't help but feel sorry for her, she could tell how remorseful she was about it all.

"So you're grounded for two weeks and I want your mobile phone as well, you can keep your laptop but it's to be used for school work only for the next two weeks, am I clear?"

"Yes" Georgie cried

Rachel sighed before going and sitting down next to Georgie and putting an arm around her.

"Come on, it's not as bad as all that"

"It is, I can't believe how stupid I was, everyone at the party will think I'm an idiot"

"Well when I turned up there it certainly didn't look like you were the only one who had taken things too far" Rachel said "But what's done is done, and you're just going to have to try and move on, I'm sure in a couple of days everyone else will have done the same"

"Rachel I really am sorry"

"I know you are, look I don't think we need to say much more about it, other than if there are ever any repeats it'll be serious trouble"

"I promise I'll never get drunk again"

"Somehow I doubt that" Rachel said smiling slightly "Right I'm done lecturing you, so why don't you put the kettle on and make us both some coffee"

"I will do" Georgie said before getting up

Rachel shook her head as she left, she wondered how long it would be before another occasion like this.

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